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Gospel: Matthew 23: 13-22
Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves.
“Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
‘If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.’
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, ‘If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.’
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Today we celebrate one of the greatest intellects the Church has ever known: Saint Augustine.
While volumes have been written about his theology and spirituality, perhaps we can understand his life using a simple image:
A black and white cookie.
Maybe you’ve seen one in a local bakery. Half of the cookie is covered in dark icing, while the other half is covered in white icing.
That cookie symbolizes how Saint Augustine lived his life.
The first half was lived in darkness, pursuing worldly pleasures. But after experiencing a dramatic conversion, the second half of his life was spent trying to live more and more like Christ.
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Augustine reminds us that moving from darkness into the light is much easier said than done. In one of his first prayers, he says:
“Lord, make me chaste. Just not yet.”
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Augustine felt the burden of faith. He wanted to change. But he also understood just how hard moving from the darkness into the light can be.
Haven’t we all experienced something similar?
Lord, make me chaste. Make me holy. Make me humble. Make me more prayerful…
Just not yet.
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There may be a little black and a lot of white inside all of us – areas where we need to grow in virtue, as well as areas where we are holy.
Augustine reminds us to keep striving for that light, because, he says, “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord.”
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Image credits: (1) Black and white cookie, Wikipedia (2) Ibid. (3) Saint Augustine, The Conversation, Shutterstock